Sunday, 26 April 2009

President Fernando Lugo asked for forgiveness Friday for a paternity scandal in which three women claim the former Roman Catholic bishop fathered their children.

Reading to reporters from a written statement, Lugo acknowledged "personal errors" and portrayed himself as a "father who is prepared to share his love and care."

But Lugo, who has acknowledged fathering a 2-year-old boy born to a former parishioner, did not recognize the two children involved in two other paternity claims.

"I am a human being,( He should mention this to the Pope , a former Fascist Hitler youth member) and therefore nothing is foreign to me," Lugo said. "Asking forgiveness for these circumstances, I want to stress that my version will always be the truth."

A senator from a party currently aligned with Lugo's urged the president to resign.

"Your past guaranteed a high level of credibility that would straighten out the nation's path," Alfredo Jaeggli said in a letter submitted to the presidency and congress. "Your current personal situation has made you lose all credibility.

"I beg you to resign."

Lugo's election victory a year ago put an end to more than six decades of one-party rule and promised a break with corruption by political elites. He took over in August with a mandate to help the nation's poor and indigenous.

On Friday, Lugo vowed not to let the current scandal distract his government from pressing reforms, and said he would step down only when his term ends in 2013.

"I will respond one by one to each case they attribute to me, as testimony to the truth," he said.

The paternity scandal is seen as an embarrassment for both Lugo's administration and the church. But in Paraguay's macho culture, political analysts say the paternity claims could help Lugo by lending him an air of virility and strength.

Lugo on Friday declined to answer questions on paternity claims, referring reporters to his lawyer.

"You will see this president as a father who is prepared to share his love and care," Lugo said.

The 2-year-old boy whom Lugo has acknowledged fathering while he was still subject to his vows of chastity is now adopting the president's name with a judge's permission. The mother, 26-year-old Viviana Carrillo, was the first to go public with a paternity claim against Lugo this month.

Another woman, an impoverished 25-year-old soap seller named Benigna Leguizamon, is requesting a DNA test to verify her claim that Lugo fathered her 6-year-old son. A Cabinet minister says Lugo has agreed to submit a DNA test. (But the test will not be subject to the truth,) you can bet your boots on that)The most recent woman to claim a child with Lugo is a 39-year-old divorcee with two adult children who said she met Lugo three years ago, after he gave up his church leadership position. Unlike the others, Damiana Hortensia Moran Amarilla she says has no plans to sue the president.(She probably has a great desire to live)

Lugo resigned in 2004 as bishop of San Pedro, in the landlocked nation's poorest province, and in December 2006 announced he was renouncing his bishop status to run for president.

Pope Benedict XVI did not give him permission to resign, relieving him of his chastity vows, until July 2008, after insisting during Lugo's campaign that he would always be a bishop under Church law.

One bishop, Rogelio Livieres, alleges the church was aware of possible abuse of authority by Lugo but let him resign without making the complaints public, thus facilitating his bid for the presidency.

However, the Paraguayan bishops' conference says it never received "formal written complaints" from women about Lugo.

............

Obviously the power of the Catholic church will decide his fate, favourably no doubt. Lugo's misuse of authority would come as no surprise to most micks, tales coming out of Ireland about priests frolicking with home alone housewives are commonplace. Ignorance and fear of the powerful priests who administer the teachings of the Church of Rome in the impoverished communities of Sth/ America, will mean, peasants fearing the wrath of these lying denizens, will be expected to administer sexual favours now and as in the past, without question; to these tin gods of Christianity.

Friday, 24 April 2009

Although we are not into receiving impromptu visitors; Barney was the exception.Barney is a big guy friendly and excitable. we first met barney about eighteen months ago at the time our son Tim was house hunting and had left his three little ones in our care. We were not sure where Barney lived at first but later was told it was about a kilometer down the road. Barney always had a great reception from our three little ones and joined in their activities which included dinner in the evening. We were not too concerned about the extra mouth to feed as it was a pleasure to see how amicable they were. However, as soon as it got dark, the four of them would gather around the front gate to see him leave.Then it came to pass that our son Tim moved in with us for ten months, and during that time Barney continued to call and for a joke swapped his identity tag with one of our little one's for several visits, this resulted in a visit to our house by a lady who informed us that Barney was her little one and she lived near the supermarket about a half mile down the road and was pleased we were looking after Barney her seven year old. About two months ago, Tim moved out with his brood to Muswellbrook in NSW, but Barney continued to call every couple or so days, It is hard to explain to a seven year old that his friends have gone for ever, then his calls were every week and we could see he was unhappy and would not stay too long, Rosemary my darling would give him a hug and told him he was welcome anytime we were at home.Sadly Barney has not been around for the past twelve days, then again Barney was always unpredictable, you never knew about Barney, but he knew he was always welcome anytime for a feed of Sardines.

Another thought to finish off the week. It seems only yesterday that it was last Friday and school hols had only just started. We are currently baby sitting our 16 and 13 year old gorgeous Granddaughters, we couldn't wish for better behaved young ladies,Today Friday 24th we will be busy shopping and preparing for tomorrow which is 'Anzac Day' in Strayer and the land of the long white cloud (Google for more info)This annual event seems to arrive quicker every year. I shall not be marching in the big parade this year, reason being Wobblylegitis after the first mile.So it will be a sedate lunch a drop of tipple and a silly old singsong which will be only meaningful to us old geezers.

Here is another parable from our Bean counter; Graeme.

Perspective

One day , the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip , the father asked his son , "How was the trip?" "It was great , Dad." "Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked. "Oh yeah , " said the son. "So , tell me , what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father. The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us , but they serve others. We buy our food , but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us , they have friends to protect them." The boy's father was speechless. Then his son added , "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are." Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have. Appreciate every single thing you have , especially your friends! Pass this on to friends and acquaintances and help them refresh their perspective and appreciation.

If there's one thing bikies pride themselves on, it's their reputation as the meanest, toughest guys in town.Recently there has been a spate of Bikie involved altercations within the Sydney metropolitan area, punchups at the air port where shots were fired and a jewelery store holdup in broad daylight in a major shopping centre. Plus there have been inter bikie gang drive by shootings and fortunately deaths occurring within the bikie community, this should be done more often until these brain dead idiots wipe themselves out.

This is the sort of thing you'd expect someone to grow out of by the time they're actually old enough to get a motorcycle licence, but still. . .

So what happens when a bikie gang loses its fearsome rep?

As Australia's Hells Angels have discovered, this annoys their even bigger and meaner Hells Angels bosses in the US. The land of the brave and the free to shoot at any thing which annoys you, mindful of the old Minnesotan hag that rides an after dark V8 Broomstick but on Saturday arvo's has her beat up pickup truck with chained gun rack parked outside the Bikie and redneck boozer, where inside the riffraff tote tattoos like the 'Right to bear arms' while smoking wacky baccy and guzzling moonshine.

Hells Angels HQ - what a flash pad that must be - has issued an impatient directive to their pushed-around Australian branch to get with the program and proactively move ahead strategically with the latest cutting-edge bikie violence plan, going forward.

(Since bikie gangs now have quasi-corporate organisational structures, it seems only reasonable to address them in corporate-speak).

One thing about this doesn't exactly sit right, however.

If our bikies are such tough guys, such untamed rebels, what are they doing taking orders from a bunch of major assholes more than 12,000km away?In any case I am reliably informed that most bikies particularly in America are into bestiality and most are Bisexual and are totally vulnerable singularly without their makeup and tough guy trappings.Bikies are simply Wimps who have lost direction and dress to intimidate.

And now the political joke of the week. From bean counter Graeme.

Two Crocs Talking ......

Two Crocodiles were sitting at the side of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, Australia.

The smaller one turned to the bigger one and said, 'I can't understand how you can be so much bigger than me. We're the same age, we were the same size as kids. I just don't get it.'

'Well,' said the big Croc, 'what have you been eating?'

'Politicians, same as you,' replied the small Croc.

'Hmm. Well, where do you catch them?'

'Down the other side of the lake near the parking lot by the Parliament House.'

'Same here. Hmm.. How do you catch them?'

'Well, I crawl up under one of their Lexus cars and wait for one to unlock the car door. Then I jump out, grab them by the leg, shake the shit out of them and eat 'em!'

'Ah!' says the big Crocodile, 'I think I see your problem. You're not getting any real nourishment. See, by the time you finish shaking the shit out of a Politician, there's nothing left but an asshole and a briefcase.'

Maybe a waterside parking lot for Bikies at the nearest Croc Spot is on the cards.

Bikies bailed over alleged bashing The Age - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎TWO Sydney men linked to the NSW Comancheros motorcycle club have been bailed in Victoria over allegations they came to Melbourne and attacked and seriously injured a man in a home invasion. A Melbourne detective said yesterday NSW police had reported ...Bikies bailed over alleged bashing WA today - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎TWO Sydney men linked to the NSW Comancheros motorcycle club have been bailed in Victoria over allegations they came to Melbourne and attacked and seriously injured a man in a home invasion. A Melbourne detective said yesterday NSW police had reported ...Mates of accused pair confront Herald Sun at court Herald Sun - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎RELATIVES and friends of two men with alleged links to the Comancheros motorcycle gang attacked two Herald Sun photographers outside Melbourne Magistrates' Court last night. The pair were trying to photograph the release of Sydney man George Kozma from ...Men bailed over alleged home bashing Herald Sun - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎TWO men police claim are linked to Sydney's Comancheros Motorcycle Club have been granted bail over an alleged home invasion. George Kozma, 34, of Marrickville, NSW, and Alex Taouil, 33, of Georges Hall, NSW, are accused of being part of a group of men ...Alleged bikie linked pair bailed over attack LIVENEWS.com.au - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎Australian AP Two men police claim are linked to Sydney's Comancheros Motorcycle Club have been granted bail over an alleged home invasion. George Kozma, 34, of Marrickville, NSW, and Alex Taouil, 33, of Georges Hall, NSW, are accused of being part of ...Alleged bikie pair bailed over attack The West Australian - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎Two men police claim are linked to Sydney's Comancheros Motorcycle Club have been granted bail over an alleged home invasion. George Kozma, 34, of Marrickville, NSW, and Alex Taouil, 33, of Georges Hall, NSW, are accused of being part of a group of men ...Alleged bikie pair bailed over attack Ninemsn - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎By Daniel Fogarty Two men police claim are linked to Sydney's Comancheros Motorcycle Club have been granted bail over an alleged home invasion. George Kozma, 34, of Marrickville, NSW, and Alex Taouil, 33, of Georges Hall, NSW, are accused of being part ...Men bailed over alleged home bashing Courier Mail - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎TWO men police claim are linked to Sydney's Comancheros Motorcycle Club have been granted bail over an alleged home invasion. George Kozma, 34, of Marrickville, NSW, and Alex Taouil, 33, of Georges Hall, NSW, are accused of being part of a group of men ...Men bailed over alleged home bashing Daily Telegraph - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎TWO men police claim are linked to Sydney's Comancheros Motorcycle Club have been granted bail over an alleged home invasion. George Kozma, 34, of Marrickville, NSW, and Alex Taouil, 33, of Georges Hall, NSW, are accused of being part of a group of men ...Men bailed over alleged home bashing The Australian - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎Article from: Australian AP TWO men police claim are linked to Sydney's Comancheros Motorcycle Club have been granted bail over an alleged home invasion. George Kozma, 34, of Marrickville, NSW, and Alex Taouil, 33, of Georges Hall, NSW, are accused of ...Men bailed over alleged home bashing Adelaide Advertiser - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎TWO men police claim are linked to Sydney's Comancheros Motorcycle Club have been granted bail over an alleged home invasion. George Kozma, 34, of Marrickville, NSW, and Alex Taouil, 33, of Georges Hall, NSW, are accused of being part of a group of men ...Alleged bikie pair bailed over attack The Age - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎Two men police claim are linked to Sydney's Comancheros Motorcycle Club have been granted bail over an alleged home invasion. George Kozma, 34, of Marrickville, NSW, and Alex Taouil, 33, of Georges Hall, NSW, are accused of being part of a group of men ...Men bailed over alleged home bashing Adelaidenow - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎TWO men police claim are linked to Sydney's Comancheros Motorcycle Club have been granted bail over an alleged home invasion. George Kozma, 34, of Marrickville, NSW, and Alex Taouil, 33, of Georges Hall, NSW, are accused of being part of a group of men ...Men bailed over alleged home bashing PerthNow - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎TWO men police claim are linked to Sydney's Comancheros Motorcycle Club have been granted bail over an alleged home invasion. George Kozma, 34, of Marrickville, NSW, and Alex Taouil, 33, of Georges Hall, NSW, are accused of being part of a group of men ...Alleged bikie pair bailed over attack Sydney Morning Herald - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎Two men police claim are linked to Sydney's Comancheros Motorcycle Club have been granted bail over an alleged home invasion. George Kozma, 34, of Marrickville, NSW, and Alex Taouil, 33, of Georges Hall, NSW, are accused of being part of a group of men ...Alleged bikie pair bailed over attack Brisbane Times - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎Two men police claim are linked to Sydney's Comancheros Motorcycle Club have been granted bail over an alleged home invasion. George Kozma, 34, of Marrickville, NSW, and Alex Taouil, 33, of Georges Hall, NSW, are accused of being part of a group of men ...Men bailed over alleged home bashing Melbourne Herald Sun - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎TWO men police claim are linked to Sydney's Comancheros Motorcycle Club have been granted bail over an alleged home invasion. George Kozma, 34, of Marrickville, NSW, and Alex Taouil, 33, of Georges Hall, NSW, are accused of being part of a group of men ...Men bailed over alleged home bashing NEWS.com.au - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎TWO men police claim are linked to Sydney's Comancheros Motorcycle Club have been granted bail over an alleged home invasion. George Kozma, 34, of Marrickville, NSW, and Alex Taouil, 33, of Georges Hall, NSW, are accused of being part of a group of men ...Alleged bikies bailed over home invasion ABC Regional Online - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎Two men with alleged connections to the Comancheros bikie gang have been granted bail after being charged over a violent home invasion in Melbourne earlier this month. George Kozma, 34, and Alex Taouil, 33, both from New South Wales, are facing charges ...Alleged bikies bailed over home invasion ABC Online - ‎Apr 20, 2009‎Two men with alleged connections to the Comancheros bikie gang have been granted bail after being charged over a violent home invasion in Melbourne earlier this month. George Kozma, 34, and Alex Taouil, 33, both from New South Wales, are facing charges ...

Saturday, 18 April 2009

Again I cross swords with the sheer downright ignorance and the inbred stark fear of one's peers, within the archaic Muslim Sharia Law.Sharia law runs parallel and equally as stupid as sixteenth century witch hunting and burning of innocent people at the stake.This latest violation of human rights should be challenged and the perpetrators of this atrocity; namely this Muslim segment of the faith industry charged with murder; nothing less.

Lovers shot for eloping.

Kabul: A Taliban firing squad has executed a young couple for trying to elope.Gul Pecha, 19,and her boyfriend Abdul Aziz, 21, were shot with AK-47's in front of a crowd in a militant controlled town in Southwest Afghanistan.The were accused by the militants of immoral acts and a council of conservative clerics decided they should be killed.The two had hoped to travel to Iran but their parents sent villagers to bring them home. Although accounts vary as to whether the pair was handed over to the Taliban by their parents or taken by force.The Taliban forbids unmarried men and women talking or meeting without supervision.

I find it difficult to believe this sort of behaviour, when I compare our very close social activity with our Muslim friends and neighbours while living in Malaya in the 1950s. One friend Abdul Karim bin Anang who died in December 1986, Wrote to us for thirty two years, beautiful copper plate style letters in near perfect English, and we visited him and his extended family in 1960 and 1986 prior to his departure to that great mosque in the sky. I believe he was more Christian than Myself and his goodness showed.

Wednesday, 15 April 2009

For ages now we have known the truth that the true cause of the global financial crisis is that too many of us have been too busy wasting employers time on 'Face book' to do any actual work.Observations by employers when approaching employees would frequently notice hurried clicking to cover up non office activity such as face book photo galleries about ("our overseas holiday") with Excel spreadsheets of public hospital funding.It is a well established fact that 70 percent of Face booking students had lower grades than the non - Face bookers.I recently heard that some universities have set up Face book sites so students can find out for themselves if they are Face book addicts, which is like boosting AA numbers by having a happy hour.Anyhow,feel free to blog with me about this anytime you are at work.

Saturday, 11 April 2009

The Somali pirates who took control of the 17,000-ton “Maersk Alabama” cargo-ship in the early hours of Wednesday morning probably were unaware that the ship they were boarding belonged to a U.S. Department of Defense contractor with “top security clearance,” which does a half-billion dollars in annual business with the Pentagon, primarily the Navy. The ship was being operated by an “all-American” crew — there were 20 U.S. nationals on the ship. “Every indication is that this is the first time a U.S.-flagged ship has been successfully seized by pirates,” said Lt. Nathan Christensen, a spokesperson for for the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet.The last documented pirate attack of a U.S. vessel by African pirates was reported in 1804, off Libya, according to The Los Angeles Times.

The company, A.P. Moller-Maersk, is a Denmark-based company with a large U.S. subsidiary, Maersk Line, Ltd, that serves U.S. government agencies and contractors. The company, which is based in Norfolk, Virginia, runs the world’s largest fleet of U.S.-flag vessels. The “Alabama” was about 300 miles off the coast of the Puntland region of northern Somalia when it was taken. The U.S. military says the Alabama was not operating on a DoD contract at the time and was said to be delivering food aid.

The closest U.S. warship to the “Alabama” at the time of the seizure was 300 miles away. The U.S. Navy did not say how or if it would respond, but seemed not to rule out intervention. “It’s fair to say we are closely monitoring the situation, but we will not discuss nor speculate on current and future military operations,” said Navy Cmdr. Jane Campbell.

The seizure of the ship seemed to have been short-lived. At the time of this writing, the Pentagon was reporting that the U.S. crew retook the ship and was holding one of the pirates in custody. At this point, it is unclear if the crew acted alone or had assistance from the military or another security force.

Over the past year, there has been a dramatic uptick in media coverage of the “pirates,” particularly in the Gulf of Aden.Pirates reportedly took in upwards of $150 million in ransoms last year alone. In fact, at the moment the Alabama’s seizure, pirates were already holding 14 other vessels with about 200 crew members, according to the International Maritime Bureau. There have been seven hijackings in the past month alone.

Often, the reporting on pirates centers around the gangsterism of the pirates and the seemingly huge ransoms they demand.Indeed, piracy can be a very profitable business, as the following report from Reuters suggests:

A rough back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that the operation to hijack the Saudi tanker, the Sirius Star, cost no more than $25,000, assuming that the pirates bought new equipment and weapons ($450 apiece for an AK-47 Kalashnikov, $5,000 for an RPG-7 grenade launcher, $15,000 for a speedboat). That contrasts with an initial ransom demand to the tanker’s owner, Saudi Aramco, of $25 million.

“Piracy is an excellent business model if you operate from an impoverished, lawless place like Somalia,” says Patrick Cullen, a security expert at the London School of Economics who has been researching piracy. “The risk-reward ratio is just huge.”

But this type of coverage of the pirates is similar to the false narrative about “tribalism” being the cause of all of Africa’s problems. Of course, there are straight-up gangsters and criminals engaged in these hijackings. Perhaps the pirates who hijacked the Alabama on Wednesday fall into that category. We do not yet know. But that is hardly the whole “pirate” story. Consider what one pirate told The New York Times after he and his men seized a Ukrainian freighter “loaded with tanks, artillery, grenade launchers and ammunition” last year. “We don’t consider ourselves sea bandits,” said Sugule Ali:. “We consider sea bandits those who illegally fish in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas. We are simply patrolling our seas. Think of us like a coast guard.” Now, that “coast guard” analogy is a stretch, but his point is an important and widely omitted part of this story.Indeed the Times article was titled, “Somali Pirates Tell Their Side: They Want Only Money.” Yet, The New York Times acknowledged, “the piracy industry started about 10 to 15 years ago… as a response to illegal fishing.”

Take this fact: Over $300 million worth of tuna, shrimp, and lobster are “being stolen every year by illegal trawlers” off Somalia’s coast, forcing the fishing industry there into a state of virtual non-existence.

But it isn’t just the theft of seafood. Nuclear dumping has polluted the environment. “In 1991, the government of Somalia collapsed,” wrote Johann Hari in The Independent. “Its nine million people have been teetering on starvation ever since — and the ugliest forces in the Western world have seen this as a great opportunity to steal the country’s food supply and dump our nuclear waste in their seas.”

According to Hari:

As soon as the [Somali] government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died.…

This is the context in which the “pirates” have emerged. Somalian fishermen took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers, or at least levy a “tax” on them. They call themselves the Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia — and ordinary Somalis agree. The independent Somalian news site WardheerNews found 70 per cent “strongly supported the piracy as a form of national defence.”

As the media coverage of the pirates has increased, private security companies like Xe/Blackwater have stepped in, seeing profits. A few months ago, Blackwater executives flew to London to meet with shipping company executives about protecting their ships from pirate attacks. In October, the company deployed the MacArthur, its “private sector warship equipped with helicopters” to the Gulf of Aden. “We have been contacted by shipowners who say they need our help in making sure goods get to their destination,” said the company’s executive vice-president, Bill Matthews. “The McArthur can help us accomplish that.”

According to an engineer aboard the MacArthur, the ship, whose crew includes former Navy SEALS, was at one point stationed in an area several hundred miles off the coast of Yemen. “Security teams will escort ships around both horns of Africa, Somalia and Yemen as they head to the Suez Canal… The McArthur will serve as a staging point for the SEALs and their smaller boats.”

All of this is important to keep in context any time you see a short blurb pop up about pirates attacking ships. “Did we expect starving Somalians to stand passively on their beaches, paddling in our toxic waste, and watch us snatch their fish to eat in restaurants in London and Paris and Rome?” Hari asked. “We won’t act on those crimes — the only sane solution to this problem — but when some of the fishermen responded by disrupting the transit-corridor for 20 percent of the world’s oil supply, we swiftly send in the gunboats.”

*** Understand the facts - The general media tell you lies.

Just as it seemed that this drama was coming to an end, the story has taken a very bizarre turn.It seems as though the pirates essentially tricked the ship’s “all-American” crew into handing over the Alabama’s captain, Capt. Richard Phillips.

After reports, based on Pentagon sources, emerged that the ship had been retaken by the US crew, word came from the ship that the captain of the “Alabama” had been taken by the pirates onto a lifeboat. The details of how exactly the four pirates managed to get the captain onto a lifeboat are still sketchy, but it seems a little bit like a scene out of a Marx brothers movie. The ship’s second mate Kenn Quinn was interviewed on CNN and described how the crew was essentially tricked into handing the captain over to the pirates. Quinn spoke to CNN’s Kyra Phillips:

Quinn: When they board, they sank their boats so the captain talked them into getting off the ship with the lifeboat. But we took one of their pirates hostage and did an exchange. What? Huh? Okay. I’ve got to go.

Phillips: Ken, can you stay with me for just two more seconds?

Quinn: What?

Phillips: Can you tell me about the negotiations, what you’ve offered these pirates in exchange for your captain?

Quinn: We had one of their hostages. We had a pirate we took and kept him for 12 hours. We tied him up and he was our prisoner.

Phillips: Did you return him?

Quinn: Yeah, we did. But we returned him but they didn’t return the captain. So now we’re just trying to offer them whatever we can. Food. But it’s not working too good.”

As TV Newser pointed out, “Later Phillips gave what may be the understatement of the day: ‘It sounds like the pirates did not keep their end of the deal.’”

UPDATE: At least one nuclear-powered U.S. warship is reportedly on its way to the scene of the hijacking off the coast of Somalia of a vessel owned by a major Pentagon contractor. A U.S. official told the Associated Press the destroyer USS Bainbridge is en route while another official said six or seven ships are responding to the takeover of the “Maersk Alabama,” which is part of a fleet of ships owned by Maersk Ltd., a U.S. subsidiary of a Denmark firm, which does about a half-billion dollars in business with the U.S. government a year.

– By Jeremy ScahillJeremy Scahill, an independent journalist who reports frequently for the national radio and TV program Democracy Now!, has spent extensive time reporting from Iraq and Yugoslavia. He is currently a Puffin Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute. Scahill is the author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army. His writing and reporting is available at RebelReports.com

Thursday, 9 April 2009

WORSHIPPERS at one of the state's largest hospital chapels have been ordered to get rid of crucifixes and Bibles and pull down religious pictures and symbols for fear of offending other religions.

It was in the early 90s when a similar incident occurred at Christmas Time within a large shopping complex in western Sydney, when a senior management person took it upon himself to ban a 'Nativity Scene' from the premises, for fear it would upset members of other religions within the community. Although not a knee bender myself, my first thoughts were, but this is first and fore most a Christian Country, and it certainly would not hold water in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and the geezer I confronted, was from the western side of the Sub Continent. The stupid decision was overturned when others joined the fray.

The decision by Royal North Shore Hospital has outraged patients and their families, many of whom have turned to the chapel for comfort in their darkest hours.

Hospital managers ordered the ban on symbols of any kind because the chapel was increasingly being used by a number of different faiths.

But Mosman Mayor Dominic Lopez said angry patients were offended that the chapel no longer represented a holy place.

"I used to sit there and pray when my wife was dying of breast cancer and look at that cross," he said. "Now it is just a hall and the decision is bulls. . .. You either have a chapel or you don't. It's offensive to have a church or chapel and not have a cross in it."

Some hospital chaplains have been fighting the decision but recently lost their battle.

The hospital defended its decision to ban all Christian and non-Christian symbols, saying it was appropriate to appease all religions. Each faith is allowed to display their symbols during services but they must be taken down and stored out of sight afterwards.

But Islamic leaders last night stressed they would not have asked for Christian symbols to be removed. I am left wondering whether this is entirely true

NSW Health does not have a fixed policy on prayer rooms or hospital chapels.

Some two-bit bob bureaucrat has made the decision, just like when someone decided we couldn't sing Christmas carols anymore in schools.

Since 1968, visitors and patients of all faiths have been able to use the chapel. With its stained glass windows and timber ceiling, the prayer hall has been the perfect backdrop for weddings and other ceremonies.

Up until recently, a cross was visible at the front of the altar. A separate Muslim prayer space has been made in the chapel's loft.

The chapel is now best described as a multi-faith chapel where people from all of the miscellaneous branches of the faith industry may feel welcome.

The decision was made to display the symbols of each faith, for example the chapel's cross and Bible, during specific services and ceremonies only.

These important religious symbols are appropriately stored and used regularly.

99 percent of of the strife in our world today and in the past, stems from religious lunacy and in fighting, this is on the increase within Australia due to the post war arrival of Muslim hordes seemingly set on undermining the normally staid populace with their inhuman archaic beliefs. Mind you the most recent outburst from the Mick Archbishop Pell beggar's belief. It's so enlightening to hear those in the Celibate sector come forth with advice on sexual intercourse.

Monday, 6 April 2009

1. 75% of people are chronically dehydrated. (Likely applies to half the world population)

2. In 37% of people, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is mistaken for hunger.

3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3%.

4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.

5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.

8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%., and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer. Are you drinking the amount of water you should drink every day?

COKE

1. In many states the highway patrol carries ten liters ortwo gallons of Coke in the boot (trunk) to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.

2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.

3.. To clean a toilet:Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the 'real thing' sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.

4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals:Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubbleaway the corrosion.

6. To loosen a rusted bolt:Apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

7. To bake a moist ham:Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.

8. To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke into the load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains.. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

1 the active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. It will dissolve a nail in about four days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase of osteoporosis.

2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup! (the concentrate) the commercial trucks must use a hazardous Material place cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.

3. The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean engines of the trucks for about 20 years!

Friday, 3 April 2009

I Have often considered that within the ranks of professional people there lies a higher ratio of criminal activity than that of the general public at large. These people have more devices and options to avoid detection and incarceration. However the Faith Industry gaudily robed ministers have long been excused close scrutiny and over my years I met many I would not trust with my wife or wallet, the worst offenders hailing from the church of Rome, who run neck and neck with miscellaneous scoutmasters in the art of bestiality

A Florida priest who, with another Reverend stole US$8 Million from church collection plate donations, in order to cruise the Bahamas and Australia.These phony religious Geeks, the Rev Francis Guinan and his running mate John Skehan have been jailed. Both had spent church money on expensive homes and gambling visits to Las Vegas and entertaining loose women. they were arrested after an extended holiday in Ireland and Australia. They stated, that they felt entitled to the riches because they had devoted their life to charity{Charity starts at Home} and you feel you made sacrifices over and beyond, but their charity work went unrecorded.Court documents have revealed forensic accounting found more than US$8.6 Million had been misappropriated from Florida's St Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church during their tenures.They further stated, that the diocese was to blame because it was unclear about how discretionary funds could be spent.[If they were in doubt they should have asked a plumber or self employed cleaner].Of course these couple of defrocked parasites will eventually be free to live it up on the undetected funds they have salted away, that, which mugs like those who cringe and kow tow to these ecclesiastical geeks, plonk their hard earned on the collection plate.In the wash-up I suppose they are not immortal, but simply human beings dressed in drag who seized upon a great opportunity to whoop it up.

Thursday, 2 April 2009

The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term paper. The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well:

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following: First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today.

Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities: 1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over. So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct......leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh my God."

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED an A+

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About Me

Ardent family orientated bloke,love my family lots.
Love Australia my Beautiful adopted country, but remember passionately my home village, Chalgrove in Oxfordshire, England. My favourite friends would include several shipmates I am in close contact with who served with me while in the British Royal Navy ..going back a fair bit.
There is also the silence of my age, too full of wisdom for the tongue to utter it - in words intelligible to those who have not lived-the great range of my life.
Vest.GSM, LSGCM, WM, B/PM, ITM, UNM, K-N M, EOW M, Asia- PAC M. ROYAL NAVY 25yrs, Retired.